Glenn Maxwell reveals Virat Kohli blocked him on Instagram for mocking shoulder injury in 2017 (WATCH)

By Sunita Iyer | First Published Oct 29, 2024, 6:47 PM IST

In a candid revelation, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has disclosed that he was blocked by Indian cricket star Virat Kohli on Instagram after a controversial incident during the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The incident unfolded when Kohli sustained a shoulder injury while fielding in Ranchi. Maxwell, in a display of mockery, imitated Kohli's injury, a move that reportedly did not sit well with the Indian captain.

During an appearance on the Willow Talk podcast on LiSTNR Sport, Maxwell recounted how he later attempted to follow Kohli on Instagram, only to discover that he had been blocked.

Glenn Maxwell said, "I searched for Virat Kohli's Instagram, but couldn't find it when I joined RCB. I asked Virat, 'have you blocked me?' he was like, 'yeah, probably. It was when you mocked me during the Test'". (Espncricinfo). pic.twitter.com/vv860ygrqW

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"When I knew I was going to RCB, Virat was the first guy to message me and welcome me to the team. When I turned up for the pre-IPL training camp, we obviously got chatting and spent a fair bit of time training together as you do," Maxwell said.

"So, I go to his social media (to) follow him. Didn't even think about it before that. Never really crossed my mind. I was like, 'I can't find him'," the Australian added.

"I'm sure he's on social media somewhere, so I didn't think anything of it. Not really that maybe he wasn't savvy with Instagram. Didn't really understand why he wasn't coming up, and then, someone mentioned that 'He might have blocked you. That is the only way you're not able to find him.' I was like, 'Surely not'," Maxwell further said.

During the 2017 Test series in India, Kohli sustained a shoulder injury while fielding in the Ranchi match. Subsequently, Maxwell mimicked Kohli by clutching his own right shoulder, an act that Kohli found offensive. As a result of the injury, Kohli missed the following Test in Dharamsala.

When Maxwell confronted Kohli on being blocked on Instagram

The Australian cricketer confronted Kohli about the situation, to which the Indian batsman admitted, "Yeah, probably. It was when you mocked me during that Test match. I think I got the sh*** and decided to block you'."

"I was like, 'Yeah, that's fair enough'. So yeah, he (then) ended up unblocking me, and we became great friends after that. We've had quite a funny relationship," Maxwell added.

"It was a nice little story to have as a little side note, but we've had quite a funny relationship leading up to playing the IPL together. Sharing that dressing room and sharing experiences, becoming parents, I suppose, around the same time," the Australian further said.

"From the days we were both young and brash and going hard at each other on the field. We were in the front and centre of all that as well, sort of being the orchestrator like 'Maxi, get into his face. Say some words to him and get the young guy to do the hard work." he added.

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